Upheaval deformations of ground induced by expansive soils and application to site assessment

In this paper, the methods of prediction of upheaval deformations of ground induced by expansive soils and the assessment of site including expansive soil layers are reviewed. A method of prediction of the upheaval deformations on the basis of soil softening is formulated. Relationships to determine swelling potential of soil element in half-space under self weight are presented. The computation method of upheaval deformations on horizontal ground including expansive soil layers is explained in details. A site including expansive soil layer with high swelling pressure is chosen to illustrate the influence of thickness and position of expansive soil layer on upheaval deformations. Finally, the computation method of upheaval deformations of ground is applied to assessment of sites including expansive soil layers, and important influence of thickness and position of expansive soil layer on site assessment is shown.